On the first day of the murder trial for two men accused of a fatal 2021 shooting on Liberty Street, prosecutors portrayed the attacks as a deliberate plan to hunt Santa Barbara Eastside gang members.

Angel Eduardo Varela, 30, and Oscar Martin Trujillo-Gutierrez, 30, of Carpinteria face murder charges for allegedly killing two Santa Barbara teenagers in a Jan. 3, 2021 shooting on the 1120 block of Liberty Street, on the lower Eastside.

Angel Castillo, 17, and Omar Montiel-Hernandez, 18, of Santa Barbara were killed and two other people were also injured in the attack.

During opening statements in Superior Court Wednesday, Senior Deputy District Attorney Tate McCallister alleged that the attack was part of a deliberate plan to kill, and called the attack a “surgical strike on the Eastside.”

“(It was a) hunt through the Eastside, hunting for victims,” McCallister told the jury.

McCallister said Castillo and Montiel-Hernandez died after being shot in the back.

He accused Varela and Trujillo-Gutierrez of being connected to a Carpinteria gang, and said the group was looking for revenge on the Eastside gang after a recent fight.

McCallister accused Varela of using a ghost gun to carry out the attack, and stated that the prosecution would tie the two men to the crime using their cell phone locations, text messages, and video recovered from the surrounding area.

“At the end of this trial,” McCallister said. “There will be no mystery on who committed this crime and why.”

During opening statements from the defense, Jose F. Romero of Romero & Associates questioned the prosecution’s version of events. Romero is defending Varela, and Trujillo-Gutierrez is represented by Mauro Quintero of Kay & Quintero Law.

Romero challenged the use of ballistics and cell phone tracking by the prosecution, calling it “junk science.”

Romero also raised the question of whether the shooting was an issue between the Carpinteria gang and the Eastside gang, or the result of an attack by the Westside Santa Barbara gang.

Quintero described the prosecution’s opening argument as a movie trailer, overpromising but likely to underdeliver.

He stated that his client, Trujillo-Gutierrez, was not aware of any plan to carry out a shooting and was not involved in the attack.

“Presence does not equal knowledge,” he told the jury.

Quintero continued by arguing that the gaps in the prosecution’s case would be evident by the end of the trial, warning the jury to beware of “fool’s gold.”

After opening statements, the prosecution began calling its witnesses to the stand. 

Detective Saul Amezquita from the Santa Barbara Police Department was also called to the stand to testify as one of the first people to arrive on the scene. Amezquita was a police officer at the time of the shooting.

Amezquita testified that he tried to administer aid to the shooting victims upon arriving at Liberty Street. Amezquita also testified that Montiel-Hernandez’ clothing suggested he was part of the Eastside gang, based on Amezquita’s police experience.

Megan Harrison, an investigator with the District Attorney’s Office, explained that investigators collected video footage from door cameras along Milpas Street, the surrounding area, and Carpinteria. They were able to use the footage to identify a Jeep that was later connected to Varela, Harrison said. The Jeep had a unique blue color, black rims, and was a hardtop, she added.

Using the footage, investigators were able to determine the path of the defendants from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara, and back to Carpinteria, Harrison said. Prosecutors also showed footage of two men who investigators allege are the two defendants on foot after the shooting.

A third suspect, identified as Emilio Perez, is alleged to have driven the car while the two defendants got out and carried out the attack. Perez was 17 years old at the time of the shooting, and defense attorneys have challenged the prosecution’s attempts to transfer his case to adult criminal court.  

Harrison also testified about cellphone data that she says shows the three suspects were together in Carpinteria and made their way to Santa Barbara and back. The cell phone locations were shown to the jury using a map. It was alleged that the three people were in the same general location leading up to the attack and afterward.

The trial continues Thursday in Santa Barbara Superior Court.

Varela and Trujillo-Gutierrez are currently in custody at the Main Jail near Santa Barbara and are being held without bail. 

Earlier in the day, a juror alerted a bailiff that they believed they received a threatening message from someone during the trial’s lunch break. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick stated that the incident was investigated and deemed unrelated. She added that the person connected to the potential threat is known for suffering from mental health issues.